Sunday Streets to Grace Bayview, Potrero, and Dogpatch This Weekend

Many a cycling tot will get another chance to graduate from training wheels this Sunday on safe, car-free streets by the Bay. Sunday Streets returns to Bayview with a tweaked route this year to include the Lower Potero Hill and Dogpatch neighborhoods in the plethora of family-friendly activities.

The list of activities this month is so long, in fact, that when organizer Susan King submitted it the San Francisco Examiner for publication, “the copy editors came back to me and said, ‘cut this down by a third’.”

“This is certainly one of the most robust program lists we’ve had,” said King.

The route will run along Third Street from Mendell Plaza to 22nd Street, where it will zig zag west by Espirit Park to the Jackson Playground at 17th and Wisconsin Streets. It was modified to accommodate vehicle traffic needs for a Giants game at the ballpark, but it will also bring the street opening to new doorsteps.

“It gives us a chance to really explore those two neighborhoods that we haven’t done before,” said King. “In Dogpatch, we’re going through the emerging merchant corridor on 22nd Street and tying it to Espirit park, which is a beautiful little park hidden behind the freeway.”

“There’s a new bike path on 17th Street from Mission, so people will have a safe passage to the start of the route,” she added.

The event is being organized by Livable City in coordination with local organizations like The Third Street Corridor Project, the Bayview Merchant Association and the Renaissance Entrepreneur Center.

It will be held in conjunction with the fourth annual Family Health and Wellness Fair hosted by the Bayview Opera House, which will include free health screenings from medical professionals. The Bayview Music Festival will also fill the streets with live outdoor music along with venues all the way from Woods Yard Park to Thee Parkside and Bottom of the Hill.

San Franciscans can get healthy with activities like Zumba dance lessons and a Yoga-thon at the Opera House. As always, the SF Bike Coalition will hold its Freedom from Training Wheels program along with Blazing Saddles’ free bike rentals and the Funky Town Roller Disco. The SF Arts Commission’s Free Wall interactive mural will also make its final appearance.

In light of Sunday Streets’ success, King said officials from the U.S. Center for Disease Control will be assessing this month’s event as a potentially effective obesity intervention program. “They’re looking for programs that will be recommended on a national scale, which is very exciting,” she said.